Continuation of the trip report from a few days ago. You can find the long-winded report further down in the forum. Here's part deux, with details at the top, summary at the bottom:
Jan 8 So after 4 nights on the Strip, it was time to head downtown. Caught a cab to the Golden Gate, where I had two comped nights waiting for me. I was sharing a room with my friend, and another couple had gotten their own room.
I'm a history type of guy, so I was looking forward to staying in the oldest hotel in Vegas. Check in was easy, and we had a room on the second floor, right on Fremont St. They warned us it could be loud until late, but we were planning on being out in it anyway. Room was nice, but small. The beds were only doubles, but they fit fine if you were at an angle. And the bed was very comfortable, better than my king at Bally's. The window opened up, so I was able to stick my head out and look down Fremont. Very cool.
I wasn't feeling well (see part 1), so I took it easy that night. Had a great chicken pot pie at Dupars, and played a little blackjack, and didn't do so good. I also looked, but there wasn't much good video poker, so I didn't play much. My friend did, because he wanted to get on the radar for his own offers.
I would check on my other friends once in a while (their first Vegas trip), and they loved Fremont and everything going on, and really enjoyed the light show. I went to bed a bit early, and was able to sleep, even with the band playing right out the window.
Jan 9 The plan for Thursday was to go to the Neon Boneyard. I had already purchased the tickets online, so we jumped in a cab at the appointed hour. I had to give the cabbie directions, because he didn't know what I was talking about.
The boneyard was very cool; there were four of us, plus another couple in our group. Our tour guide was able to tell a story about every sign, hotel, etc. that was there. I'm a history buff, so I already knew a lot of it, but even I learned a thing or two. And my friends enjoyed it as well. The guide could have gone on for a lot longer, but the group that started a half hour behind us started to catch up, so he had to finish. They even called a cab for us so we could get back to FSE.
Had a few beers on Fremont East; I had already searched out a lot of the happy hours, so that was definitely a good time. I only had a few drinks though, because of being ill. Dinner was again at Dupars, where I had a not very good corned beef, but I did get my first shrimp cocktail. I always go to downtown, and love shrimp cocktail, but I'd never gotten it there before. Will definitely not be my last!
I again did some gambling, but nothing exciting. We wondered FSE in the evening, and I played a few nickel slots at the D. Definitely an interesting experience; next time I'm parking at the Sigma Derby machine for a while. One of the newbies in my group purchases a spray paint landscape of Vegas; she thought it looked great, and loved she watched them make it.
Back to more gambling (since we were leaving in the morning), and I sat at a $10 BJ table for 5 hours....and broke even. Wow. At least I didn't lose. My friend did lose a lot at the bar's VP, though. But the bartender was impressed with the way he was able to empty a bottle of Crown Royal.
Jan 10 Last day, leaving around noon. I had requested a car from Bell Transport via their website the night before, but around 10am I got a call that because of CES, they had no cars for us. Great. So we had to split up and take cabs. We ended up being taken around the interstate thru the tunnel, which was a first for me. Unfortunately, I was so worn out from the week I didn't catch it until it was too late. Live and learn.
Summary All in all, a good trip to downtown; splitting between the strip and downtown is the only way to spend 6 nights in Vegas.
-GG is very nice, love the renovations, and the rooms are nice (but small). Takes a bit of practice to get the hot water right in the shower though.
-Dupars is good; shrimp cocktail rocks, the corned beef not so much.
-Neon Boneyard is definitely something to do if you love Vegas. And if you're on this forum, you probably do.
-The Golden Gate has better toilet paper in the casino restroom than they do in the guest rooms. Well played, Golden Gate, well played.
Jan 8 So after 4 nights on the Strip, it was time to head downtown. Caught a cab to the Golden Gate, where I had two comped nights waiting for me. I was sharing a room with my friend, and another couple had gotten their own room.
I'm a history type of guy, so I was looking forward to staying in the oldest hotel in Vegas. Check in was easy, and we had a room on the second floor, right on Fremont St. They warned us it could be loud until late, but we were planning on being out in it anyway. Room was nice, but small. The beds were only doubles, but they fit fine if you were at an angle. And the bed was very comfortable, better than my king at Bally's. The window opened up, so I was able to stick my head out and look down Fremont. Very cool.
I wasn't feeling well (see part 1), so I took it easy that night. Had a great chicken pot pie at Dupars, and played a little blackjack, and didn't do so good. I also looked, but there wasn't much good video poker, so I didn't play much. My friend did, because he wanted to get on the radar for his own offers.
I would check on my other friends once in a while (their first Vegas trip), and they loved Fremont and everything going on, and really enjoyed the light show. I went to bed a bit early, and was able to sleep, even with the band playing right out the window.
Jan 9 The plan for Thursday was to go to the Neon Boneyard. I had already purchased the tickets online, so we jumped in a cab at the appointed hour. I had to give the cabbie directions, because he didn't know what I was talking about.
The boneyard was very cool; there were four of us, plus another couple in our group. Our tour guide was able to tell a story about every sign, hotel, etc. that was there. I'm a history buff, so I already knew a lot of it, but even I learned a thing or two. And my friends enjoyed it as well. The guide could have gone on for a lot longer, but the group that started a half hour behind us started to catch up, so he had to finish. They even called a cab for us so we could get back to FSE.
Had a few beers on Fremont East; I had already searched out a lot of the happy hours, so that was definitely a good time. I only had a few drinks though, because of being ill. Dinner was again at Dupars, where I had a not very good corned beef, but I did get my first shrimp cocktail. I always go to downtown, and love shrimp cocktail, but I'd never gotten it there before. Will definitely not be my last!
I again did some gambling, but nothing exciting. We wondered FSE in the evening, and I played a few nickel slots at the D. Definitely an interesting experience; next time I'm parking at the Sigma Derby machine for a while. One of the newbies in my group purchases a spray paint landscape of Vegas; she thought it looked great, and loved she watched them make it.
Back to more gambling (since we were leaving in the morning), and I sat at a $10 BJ table for 5 hours....and broke even. Wow. At least I didn't lose. My friend did lose a lot at the bar's VP, though. But the bartender was impressed with the way he was able to empty a bottle of Crown Royal.
Jan 10 Last day, leaving around noon. I had requested a car from Bell Transport via their website the night before, but around 10am I got a call that because of CES, they had no cars for us. Great. So we had to split up and take cabs. We ended up being taken around the interstate thru the tunnel, which was a first for me. Unfortunately, I was so worn out from the week I didn't catch it until it was too late. Live and learn.
Summary All in all, a good trip to downtown; splitting between the strip and downtown is the only way to spend 6 nights in Vegas.
-GG is very nice, love the renovations, and the rooms are nice (but small). Takes a bit of practice to get the hot water right in the shower though.
-Dupars is good; shrimp cocktail rocks, the corned beef not so much.
-Neon Boneyard is definitely something to do if you love Vegas. And if you're on this forum, you probably do.
-The Golden Gate has better toilet paper in the casino restroom than they do in the guest rooms. Well played, Golden Gate, well played.
